Network Associates Loses Battle to Silence Reviewers

ajkessel writes "This article from today's New York Times covers a court ruling against Network Associates in a suit brought by the New York State Attorney General to invalidate Network Associate's shrink-wrap clause which states: 'The customer will not publish reviews of this product without prior consent from Network Associates Inc.' Network Associates has vowed to appeal." Reader SlashDotIDOne points to a CNET story which says "Network Associates could be forced to pay $0.50 for every license which included this draconian requirement: 'The customer will not publish reviews of this product without prior consent from Network Associates Inc.'"

Comments

License is good warning

[moz25]

If you may only use a product on the basis of not sharing your experiences, then I'd see that as a WARNING that the product probably sucks and doesn't hold up in comparisons without optimal boundary conditions.

It signals a BIG lack of confidence from side of the manufacturer if it believes the quality of its product won't shine through reviews naturally. Sure, there'll be a few bad/dishonest reviews, but the majority of (semi-)reliable ones should be positive. That is... if the manufacturer agrees that its product is indeed excellent. In this case, apparently not ;-)

This case is good news.. I hope it sets a precedent.

Regards,

Moz.